The present invention generally relates to devices for use with catheters. More particularly, the present invention relates to multiple valve single port manifolds for use with multiple balloon catheters that allow any combination of balloons to be independently (and simultaneously) inflated or deflated.
Although used in a variety of medical procedures, multiple balloon catheters are most widely associated with percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty. The procedure typically involves advancing a balloon catheter to the partially blocked coronary artery and inflating one or more balloons at the blockage site. The inflated balloons stretch and/or fracture the blockage thereby enlarging the opening of the previously occluded vessel.
The inflation and/or deflation of the balloons is controlled by a manifold which controls access to the catheter lumens from one or more ports. A drawback to prior art designs for single port manifolds is that the individual balloons may not be separately manipulated. In other words, either all of the balloons are simultaneously inflated or deflated.
Multiple port manifolds solve this problem by providing a separate port for controlling the inflation and/or deflation of each balloon. However, the additional ports can result in a bulky device that can be difficult to manipulate by a single operator. Because catheters that are easy to use and manipulate are highly desirable, a need exists for a single port catheter manifold that allows each of the individual balloons to be independently manipulated.